China placed the 17.5 million residents of Shenzhen into lockdown for at least a week and forbade people from leaving Jilin, the first time the government has sealed off an entire province since the area surrounding Wuhan was isolated in early 2020.
The Shenzhen lockdown, which came after new virus cases doubled nationwide to almost 3,400, will be accompanied by three rounds of city-wide mass testing. Called with little notice on Sunday, the order followed earlier restrictions on Shenzhen’s central business district and will last until March 20.
